Back from the Yokohama Triennial Elias Hansen answers to our version of the Proust’s questionnaire

 

We wrote for the first time about Elias Hansen last June, in occasion of his solo show at Jonathan Viner in London. At the time we underlined the surprising results he obtained by linking aggressive phrases – sometimes taken from or song’s lyrics – with artworks based on such a material as delicate, colorful and ductile as glass is. Then Hansen travelled to Yokohama, where he was invited to have show at the Yokohama Triennial. It is indeed easy to predict how in Japan these assemblages, that could perfectly act as mysterious jewels or talismans in a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki, have been perceived (until 3^rd November 2014). Now he is back to the US, where he lives, and he has kindly accepted to reply to our questionnaire inspired to the famous one to which also Marcel Proust answered when he was still in his teens.

 

Which is your favorite subject?

 

Math has always been a favorite of mine, though I really enjoyed studying the Japanese language in college. At this point in my life, most of my studies are around material science, and that always keeps me interested. Finding the right material for the job is always a fun puzzle for me to think about. The real difficult ones usually come to me at night when I’m in bed.

 

Do you believe in abstraction?

 

Yes, I think abstraction is at the core of any series of thoughts, and it is essentially what drives a conversation. To abstract is to think.

 

Which is the most inspiring place for you?

 

Washington State is one of my favorite places in the world. Puget Sound is such an amazing and special place. To me, everything about it is perfect.

 

Which is the quality you prefer in an art dealer?

 

I have really been struggling with this lately. As a business, it is important to make sales and to distribute the product. But making art is not a normal business, and I really put my soul into my work, so I need to feel like I can really trust a dealer with my vision, not just my product. Essentially, and this may be my downfall, I really want my dealers to be my friends. It is important to me that they make the effort to come to my little studio out in the woods, and that we can have regular conversations that are not always about art.

 

Which one in a collector?

 

I generally try to avoid collectors, as I feel like I will get in the way of the relationship between the dealer and the collector. That is a special relationship that the dealer must foster, and every time I’ve gotten close to a collector, I feel like they are peaking behind a curtain they shouldn’t be peaking behind. I would be happy to be friends with them, but I haven’t met any yet that have been willing to make the trek to my studio and really sit down with me for a quiet conversation.

 

Who is your favorite artist?

 

The Reader is always my favorite. He makes work unlike any living artist, and he has a drive that is really undeniable.

 

Is there any old master that you like?

 

Leonardo da Vinci really takes the cake in terms of the old masters. Imaging him traveling around with the Mona Lisa in a backpack is really a beautiful vision. But I think there is probably a master of fakes that I would love even more. The artists that dedicate their lives to living anonymously and mastering many different styles of work only to sell them on a black market really excite me.

September 22, 2014